On Thursday, officials of Zion National Park said that one of the park's employees has tuberculosis (TB), an infectious bacterial disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis which affects the lungs. While confirming the case, David Eaker, a spokesperson for Zion, said that a male employee working at the Zion Lodge informed the park officials about his test result on March 13.

Eaker further said that the officials have discussed the case with the Utah Public Health Department and the Public Health of the National Park Service. The agencies came and started investigating the person and who this person might have been in contact with and the locations where the person had visited earlier, Eaker added.

According to the park officials, the employee's roommates, partners and coworkers could be at risk of developing symptoms of tuberculosis. Eaker said that the person had informed the officials that he was feeling weak and tired. In addition, the person was coughing. All these are the signs of tuberculosis, and after the test, it was confirmed that it was TB, Eaker added.

Dr. David Wong, Chief of the Epidemiology Branch of the Office of Public Health for the NPS, said the good thing was that the employee was working in a position that does not require contact with visitors. He further said, "There are around six people who thought they might have been in close contact with this person that needed to be looked at and those people are under surveillance now and also being checked".

According to the Utah Department of Health, tuberculosis is a serious disease and it could affect lungs. It also has the ability to spread throughout the body. The disease's symptoms include fever, night sweats and weight. The disease could be deadly if it is not treated at the right time, the department added.